Cowgirl Up!

Living in Arizona,

I'm a real sucker for everything

horses and cowboys/cowgirls!

 

This new stamp is a new release from Dove Arts and is available at many of the local scrapbook stores AND especially on
C.C. Designs Store and Blog!

 

I love the detail and beauty in all of Jennifer's stamps!

 

 

Colored with Copics markers.

Paper used was Best Creations, Cowboy Up!

(which is a kraft/glitter two-sided printed paper)

Kraft paper die cut fence

Silver charms (Ebay)

Jute rope

 

 

 

 

I created this card with it in mind that I am always needing a card to send to a girlfriend who needs just a bit of encouragement.

I know I appreciate it when someone knows

I'm needing that "hug" and a little "yee-haw"!

 

I'll be entering this in the challenge over at

The Kraft Journal, Girlfriends theme

 

Have a delightful Friday!

~Jan~

 

 



On the Seventh day of Christmas with DCWV....

... I made this little shadow book that can hold so many memories!

So glad you could join

DCWV

for our

12 Days of Christmas!
 

 I am day Seven!

I wanted to make something a bit different than a card, or a layout (and since I have no swans a swimmin' to speak of, or seven of any bird for that matter)

I decided to make a nice keepsake book/box as a decorator piece for the holidays!

 

 

I decorated the front of an old book with the gorgeous vintage paper from the

Chrismas Combo Stack, 2012. 

With 180 pages of beautiful holiday papers to choose from, you can't go wrong!

I cut the adorable little stockings out of the "Winter Holiday" stack, and finished it off with a pretty white bow and gold trim paint.

(You can't tell, but my fireplace is the brown pattern paper run

through a "brick" embossing die!)

 

 

When you open the book, it has become a 3 dimensional frame

with a small scene inside.

 Here's where the swans come into play!

 

The secret to this project is PATIENCE.

I drew my area to be cut out on the top page, and then cut through as many layers with an Exacto knife as possible. Little by little, you make your way through the pages of the book. I stopped about 1/2 inch from the bottom so that my background had some padding behind it.

Decorate the back of what will be your shadow-box, making sure you have absolutely EVERYTHING you want included before this next step.

 

 

For my "shadow box book", I included a stamped, heat embossed and decorated Christmas tree, some white paint and snow, and popped up a lady swan.

 

Only then do you glue an acetate sheet over the top and start decorating the front cover of your frame.

I also glued all of the bottom-section pages together (yes, more patience) and painted the sides lightly with gold paint to give a more antique appearance.

The large swan on the outside is also cut twice and popped up.

 

These old books can be recycled to hold keepsakes and memories of many types.

See where your imagination can take you!

 

The pictures of this were the most difficult I have ever tried to take. Between the acetate reflecting my lights, and the day being so very gloomy and dark, this is the best I could do.

 

But the feeling of the holiday and the old-timey wholesomeness of the poem still comes through....

"seven swans a'swimming...., "

 

Please check back tomorrow at DCWV to see what the Eighth Day of Christmas brings!

 

To join in on the fun over at Top Tip Tuesdays, I entered this project on their weekly challenge!

Happy Holidays!

~Jan~



DCWV/Hampton Art Hop!

Hello and welcome to day one of the two-day DCWV/Hampton Art Holiday Hop!
 

 



DCWV and Hampton Art are two companies that go above and beyond to provide a wide selection of products from classic, to vintage, to trendy and modern. So, when we decided to team up, it was only natural that we would want to show you some variety.

Day #1 of our hop is all about vintage! Whether you are talking lace and pearls and soft weathered colors or distressed, grungy, and aged, if you love all things vintage we have some beautiful projects to show you today!
 
DCWV (Hop Beginning)
Vivian Keh
Jan Garber  (you are here!)
Dana Warren
Hilde Stolk
Gini Williams Cagle
Rita Barakat
Linda Abadie
Tessa Buys
Beverly Sizemore
Karla Der
Gloria Stengel
Amanda Philips
Hampton Art


If you have come here from Vivian's blog then you're on track! If not, you should go back to the DCWV blog and start the hop from there!

 

Swan Lake Christmas Gift Box

 

The stamps are from Hampton Art, Graphic 45 collection,
papers from DCWV, "The Heirloom Christmas" stack,
with the added duck feathers to symbolize the swan.

 

 

The container is an altered wooden cigar box.

 



 

Not only does she sparkle, but she wobbles, too!

Yep, when the box opens, she gently wiggles.

 

 

 

This will make any gift extra special!

 

 



Next, hop on over to Dana's blog and see what surprises she has in store for you!

 But, first, don't forget to leave a comment on all the blogs for your chance to win a terrific prize!

 

 

Make a note to visit the DCWV/Hampton Art Hop Day Two tomorrow!

The girls will be highlighting "modern" projects!
AND 3, yes 3, winners will be chosen from those who comment on all of the blogs to win fantastic prize packages!
Whoo-hoo!

 

Hoppy Holidays!

Mr. Toad here wishing you a very "Hoppy Christmas" holiday!

 

 

I can't resist grabbing my Copic markers

and playing with some new techniques now and then.

This image from Stampendous is one that I found particularly fun!

 

And with my new Christmas stack from

DCWV,

I had no problem picking out some great papers!

 

 

I was intimadated when I first saw this little guy, but with a few pointers from my local marker instructor, I was puttin' warts on a frog in no time!

 

And hint:  ALWAYS stamp twice, and cut twice, popping your image up off the card!

You may not be able to tell here, but that gentleman toad appears to be ready to leap right off the card!

 

Paper:  DCWV, Winter Holiday Stack

Image Stamp: Stampendous

Sentiment:  TPC Studio, Christmas Tags

Ink: Copic Markers

Entered in the December Challenge (CAS Christmas card) at
Stampendous Impressions!



Fa-la-la-la-la....

Christmas is drawing near, and many of you may have heard that I recently lost my father. This holiday will definately be a difficult one,

but with grown children of my own and a grandson who still believes in Santa,

I am trying to enjoy the season and all that goes with it!

 

 

I put up my tree this weekend, including my Dad's Lionel train set, and felt my family room fireplace needed a bit of the traditional mood,
so I made this chipboard stocking banner.

 

Starting with a KaiserKraft mini board kit, I covered the stocking shapes with
DCWV

"Heirloom Christmas" papers.
I then cut out dozens of poinsettia blooms with my Spellbinders die.  It made the process so fast and easy!

The chipboard letters were old Colorbok ones I'd hung onto for years, simply painting and glittering them with Stampendous, "Red Tinsel" embossing powder.
 

 

 

                                                                

 



It's not much,but I intend to add more before the 23rd.
 

Perhaps some pots of poinsetties along the bottom the fireplace!

 



Just BELIEVE...

The new "Crafty Christmas" paper stack

from

DCWV

has so many cool papers!

 

Some of which are these wonderful clear and light blue embossed

snowflake craft pages!

 

And so many cute embossed images papers!

Like these little ornaments that I cut out and dangled on the card with the tiny gold chain from

Blue Moon Beads!

 

I simply couldn't RESIST inking up that craft paper!

 

 I also felt it needed a bit of "snow" to show off those beauties...

 

This stack has so many possibilities! You could make dozens of cards without switching stacks at all!

 

 

 

HAVE FUN!

"Owl" be there!

Ever looking for a simple and easy way to make a little decoration for a party or family get-together?

 

DCWV

makes it as easy as 1-2-3!

 

I used the Fall paper stack

"Autumn Melody"

to throw together these cute little placecards

for a family dinner.

 

 

The "Give a Hoot" Cricut cartridge made it very easy to cut out these little owls, and the papers from DCWV added a sparkle to the project!

I only have a few minutes here and there these days to scrap, so I try and keep my projects as simple as possible.

 

 

Even though most of the dinner guests will be adults, I wanted to add a whimsical flair to the meal. We lost my father after a long illness this last week and it has been so difficult for the entire family.

His grandchildren (my grown kids) and his great-grandson will be here and this will give us a reason to smile and celebrate his life.

 

These took me a total of 30 minutes to whip up!

Not fancy, but sure to get a giggle!

 

Have a great day!

~Jan~



Humphrey takes off!

Welcome everyone to my very first

Crafter's Companion

Challenge

Design Team post!
 

 Yep, that's right!

My big news, well for me, is that I am now a proud member of both the
Crafter's Companion Challenge Blog
and the
Crafter's Companion Blog!
This means I will be bringing you not only the fun new challenge every month,
but sneaks and releases of the newest Crafter's Companion stamps and products!

 

 

I am so thrilled to be on this team

that I celebrated by coloring this adorable "Humphrey" image

and making this window card

for the

Fall Colors Challenge!
 

 Today's the LAST DAY to get your entry posted!

 

 

Isn't she cute?

The image is

"Swinging By"

and can be found here at the CC store!

 

 

 

Lots of fussy cutting on this little sweetie!

After coloring and cutting, I attached her "rope" and

hung her from the window opening.

The paper used for background is  

DCWV, "Wild Splendor" stack
and the punched leaves are made with the tiny Recollections leaf punch.

 

Quick, join the fun and maybe you could win

a $30 gift certificate to the Crafter's Companion store!
 

~Jan~

Java, anyone?

DCWV

has so many terrific paper stacks,

but this one keeps making it's way into my hot little hands!

I love the shiny, metallic embossed fall pattern

in Autumn Melody!

 

And the tag sheets in the paper stacks makes throwing together a

card or layout so very quick and easy.

 

 

This card is one of my extra-special ones!

 

It has "Smell-a-vision"!!! 

 If you saw my earlier post this month, I demonstrated how to infuse the aroma of spices in your projects without burning/distorting them by getting the powders too hot.

This project was done very much the same way,

but I used instant coffee rather than spices.

 

 

Stamp your shape or image onto heavy scrap paper.

This time I used kraft cardstock...just happened to be convenient.

I stamped my heart image several times in case I didn't like one combination of chunky embossing powders, glitters, and instant coffee.

Mix the above ingredients, and sprinkle evenly over the paper,
enough to cover the area needed for your cut shapes.  (If you can stay within the lines, good! If not, just trim it up after)

I then melted it from the underside, NOT burning my fingers or the paper,

and then after cooling COMPLETELY, I cut out the heart shape that I wanted.

(If you want to see my earlier tutorial featuring pumpkin pie spices, go here.)

 

 

After securing my charms to the mug handle with ribbon, I glued down the aromatic heart.

Oh my goodness!

I'm not even much of a coffee drinker, but this smells amazing!

These adorable charms are from Blue Moon Beads, "Trinket Shoppe".

 

 

 This is sure to get someone's attention when they open the envelope!

This card is also entered into the "Glimmer and Sparkle" challenge at
 Simon Says Stamp.
 

 



Live, Laugh, Love!

DCWV

FOREVER AND ALWAYS

 

This is to be a hand-delivered card, for sure!

 

 

I absolutely LOVE black roses.

I don't know why.

I liked them long before the "Twilight" series made vampires and

red and black famous.

 

Even though this card is orange and black to reflect Autumn colors,

my favorite colors are red and black. 

 

The sentiment is an older Cloud 9 that I've had around forever, as are the roses.

The little orange flowers were a find at the Dollar Store!

Maybe it's me, but I love the simple elegance of this card.

 

Get your own "Forever and Always" stack at Michael's now!

 

 

 

 



DCWV Monthly Card Sketch Challenge

This month's card sketch is:

 

So I quickly grabbed my "Wild Splendor" and made this!

 

I am so in love with this collection!

The fall colors are perfect and the gold foil and gold/bronze sparkle is

just enough...

 

 

Depending on the light reflection, the leaves actually DO turn just just as they do IRL!

Truly "beautiful"!

 

Enter your own project at

DCWV Diary

for a chance to win some terrific paper!